El Mariachi — Restaurant in Oʻahu

Before the pandemic this place was somewhat acceptable. The food was ok, but service has always been questionable. I don’t know what happened but since the pandemic it has gone down hill, the fact that they’ve downsized their space to 6 tables is testament to their declining business. And why is it declining you may ask? In my opinion it due to their bad attitude and lack of customer service from the owner down!

Many times during the pandemic we’d try to place pick up orders, we’d have to call multiple times as they’d never answer the hone! And when we went to pick up the order we’d wait at the counter for a long time before our presence was acknowledged. They’d claim not to have seen us, strange we’d be the only one there and they’d looked directly at us. After a couple of times we just stopped ordering.

Then as things started to reopen we thought we’d give the a try and dine in. We drove over only to find they were closed. We weren’t sure if they’d permanently closed but assumed they were a casualty of the pandemic.

A few weeks later I was in the shopping center picking up an order from Juliez next door and saw they had re-opened. So last night we decided to give them a go for dinner.

I called the restaurant around 1 pm to ask if they’d be open for dine-in that evening and if I needed reservations. Whoever I spoke with, it was a female was pretty rude, but I thought it maybe a language issue. She told me they are open til 8 and don’t take reservations, it was first come first serve.

I arrived with my family, there were 6 of us, at 6 pm. I went in to get a table while my family waited outside. There were exactly 3 occupied booths, I empty booth and a long table with 10 chairs. The only other person waiting with me was a man picking up a order. There was NO ONE else waiting for a table.

It took the lady, I guess she was the receptionist, almost 10 minutes to even acknowledge us, the waitress just kept looking at us and not speaking. Finally the pick up order was dealt with and she asked what I wanted. I told her I needed a table for six. She looked uncertain and said she’d have to ask the manager. She came back and said the owner (who was the manager) was trying to see if we could be seated. I pointed to the long empty table and was told it was RESERVED!

I then told her I had called to make reservations and was told they don’t take reservations so how could that table be reserved. She went back to the kitchen and got the owner. I told him the same thing. His reply was they don’t take reservations but it was for his wife and her family. He said they were already outside, I looked the only ones outside were my family, then he said they were on the way.

So I said the rules changed for his family, he said he made no exceptions but it was his wife. He said he’d try to hurry them along so my family who was already there could be seated at the table in an hour.

Bottom line, he’d take in non-revenue people first before taking in a party of 6 paying customers. IT’S NO WONDER HIS BUSINESS IS GOING DOWNHILL!

I grew up in the restaurant business, my family had a variety of restaurants around the country. And let me tell you family and friends were always seated last after paying customers, that’s just good business. Family and friends understood and volunteered to give up a table to paying customers as that’s what keeps a business going.

Needless to say we will NEVER return. There are other Mexican restaurants in the area, I’m pretty sure they’d welcome our business. After walking out of this place we had a very nice dinner at the new Taqueria El Ranchero in the mall. Service was excellent, we waited less than 15 minutes for a table, the food was good, and the atmosphere pleasant. Dinner was just about $200, that’s $200 El Mariachi missed out on. These days that’s good money when you’re trying to keep you...

I ate here for the very first time this week. Been really wanting a burrito lately, and I especially wanted to eat it on the way home. Called to order, asked for shredded pork, then rice and beans, she said it comes with rice and beans. I asked for sour cream and guac she said side sour cream, side guac. I said okay. I go in to pay and pick up. She asks how can she help me, I say im picking up a takeout. She says she'll be right with me. I notice the price on the menu says the burrito is $15.95, okay no problem, thats about what I expected. I took a pic of the menu just in case I want to order in the future. She brings the food, bagged, and tells me it's $26.12. I'm shocked and asked if that is in fact my food. She says yes. I see the receipt 15.95 + 3.25 sc + 5.75 guac + tax. Dang I dont actually LOVE guac that much but I paid for it cause it's what I asked for and my bad for not asking what the price was before I hung up. I get to the car and open it up; the rice and beans are not even inside the burrito, it's on the side. Opened up the tortilla to see if I could shove rice and beans in there and noticed there was guac inside! Looked at the pic of the menu and sure enough theres guac that is listed as included in the burrito! Over the phone she never mentioned that guac was included like she mentioned the rice and beans were! I would have never ordered extra guac! Then there wasnt even a fork to try to scoop the beans and rice into the small burrito; besides that, im not even sure it would have all fit. So much for trying to eat a burrito on the way home. Tasted the side guac, didnt like it. The rest of it was a big mess but did taste good. Overall, it was so disappointing. Not worth the...

I've been coming here off and on for years. With new restaurants in the area, I've not come here in awhile. I came in by myself for lunch and saw a good review for the shredded chicken taco salad.

I really enjoyed the dining room experience. It was clean and the server was very friendly and attentive. (If you treat people well they treat you well in return) I ordered the shredded chicken taco salad. I loved it! I wanted to eat light that day.

I also had a side order of frijoles (refried beans) they were excellent and went well with the taco salad. I didn't need the fried tortilla bowl so I got it on a plate and ate it with the tortilla chips.

It was an excellent experience and would be a great place to relax for lunch or even a business meeting. I'll be back on Taco Tuesday. They were advertising Biria which I must try.

Last word: This is the most home style Mexican cooking out of all the Mexican food restaurants in the Kapolei area, including the big names. I'll continue to support El Mariachi. They have been in Kapolei at least as long as me and have been a solid part of...